Great catches of trout on Lough Mask

Trout angling on Lough Mask this week has been outstanding, with reports of great catches coming in from all across the lake. Weather conditions have been mixed, but a noticeable increase in temperature has reflected well in the much improved fly hatches.

Ronan Cuasack reports that the long-awaited olives have finally appeared in big numbers in all the usual haunts. Hatches of buzzer and sedge have also been frequent this week, so the outlook for the coming weeks is bright.

Cian Murtagh and Vincent Kelly from Cavan had a three day fishing trip on Mask and Carra this week with Ronan. The lads had a total of 20 trout which exceeded the 13 inch legal limit. They also admitted losing count of the number of undersized trout they returned.

Vincent had the heaviest fish over the three days, which was a Mask beauty of 3.4lbs. He also landed a lovely 2.5lbs trout off Carra on Friday, which was one of a bag of 6 while pulling wet flies in stormy conditions.

Westport angling

The Westport Angling Club held a club competition on Saturday last out of Churchfield. There were 29 anglers on the day, with 29 fish over the limit weighed in.

First place went to John Campbell from Westport with 3 fish for 7.3lbs.

Jimmy Gibson, also from Westport, was in second place with 4 trout for 6.5lbs. Tommy Carroll from Islandeady took third with 3 trout for 6lbs. Philip McGing from Westport had a trout of 3.25lbs which took the heaviest fish prize.

Ballinrobe anglers

Ballinrobe & District Anglers had a 2 day pairs development competition over the weekend. There were 60 anglers competing, with 118 trout weighed in over the 2

days. First place went to Martin Feerick, Ballinrobe and Frankie Guilfoyle, Ennis, with 13 trout for 22.14lbs.

In second place were Pat Feerick, Ballinrobe and Brian Rapple with 11 trout for 18.06lbs. Gerry Moran and Ronan Cusack Ballinrobe were in third place with 13 trout for 14.99lbs. Heaviest fish went to Shay Cash, Dublin, with a trout of 2.51lbs. Ronan Cusack also took the best Ballinrobe angler prize.

Brian Hall of Halls Angling Centre had 3 nice trout on Thursday evening last while fishing Ballahalla, Brian’s best fish was 3.3lbs.

Pictured above is Cian Murtagh from Cavan with a fine Lough Mask trout caught during a three-day fishing trip to Loughs Mask and Carra in Co. Mayo.